Jolly Roger (flag)
's jolly roger among other flags of the Pirate Armada.]] The Jolly Roger was the name for any of various flags that pirates flown to identify themselves, usually before attacking another ship. The most famous and traditional variation of the Jolly Roger was the skull and crossbones, a flag consisting of a human skull above two long bones (although swords were also common) set in an X-mark arrangement, usually depicted crossing each other directly under the skull, on a black background. This design was used by several pirates, including Captains "Black Sam" Bellamy and Edward England, but pirates often add special features to reflect their personalities. Despite its prominence, plain black flags were often employed by most pirates in the 17th-18th century. Some Jolly Roger flags also include an hourglass, another common symbol representing death in 17th- and 18th-century Europe. Historically, the flag was flown to frighten pirates' victims into surrendering without a fight, since it conveyed the message that the attackers were outlaws who would not consider themselves bound by the usual rules of engagement—and might, therefore, slaughter those they defeated. The same message was sometimes conveyed by a red flag, though meant that the crew would fight to the death. History Every pirate ship flies a trademark variation of the skull-and-crossbones theme,Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide, pg. 30 and so every pirate captain flies his own variation of the Jolly Roger flag.Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide, p30-31: "Queen Anne's Revenge" The most notable flag of Edward Low was a red skeletal figure on a black background.In real-world history, a red skeleton with a black background was one of Edward Low's flags. Pirates were also known to change their flags, and use false flags. For different reasons at different times, different flags were chosen. For instance, Sao Feng had two notable flags:"Pirates were known to change their flags, and use false flags. Rather than presume a mistake, I would go with the explanation that for different reasons at different times, different flags were chosen. Certainly the examples of treachery in At World's End supports the idea of choosing different flags to emphasize different situations and alliances." - Terry Rossio one flag was purple and featured a golden hand holding a sword with Chinese letters next to it,DisneyPirates.com: Pirate Lords Map: Sao FengThe Secret Files of the East India Trading Company while the other flag followed Edward Low's design of a black flag featuring a red skeleton dangling in the center.The Pirates' GuidelinesLegends of the Brethren Court: Rising in the East 's jolly roger flying on the Queen Anne's Revenge.]] At the beginning of his pirate career, Blackbeard used the typical skull and crossbones flag.[[:File:QARPortrait.JPG|The Queen Anne's Revenge as shown in A General History of the Pyrates.]][[:File:QARCA.jpg|Concept art of the Queen Anne's Revenge.]] He later used a flag designed to intimidate his enemies, one that depicted a demonic horned skeleton holding a goblet in one hand and a spear pointing to a bleeding heart in the other,Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (junior novelization), p.48 as if he's toasting his victims.POTC4 Presskit At some point prior to the voyage to the Fountain of Youth, Blackbeard flew a new variation, featuring a skull with flames that revealed his passion for forbidden dark magic. Origin Term As early as 1704, pirates were referring to their flags as Rogers and in 1703, one captain referred to his flag as "Old Roger". The name Roger derives from the word rogue, meaning a wandering thief or vagabond. The name "Old Roger" was another name for the devil. The earliest known mention of the Jolly Roger is in Charles Johnson's A General History of the Pyrates, published in 1724. The book mentions that both Bartholomew Roberts and Francis Spriggs called their flag the Jolly Roger, though the flags were different and neither were the popular skull and crossbones design. Less popular theories include the name being derived from the French term "Joli Rouge" (meaning "Pretty Red") or from the name Ali Raja, a famous Indian pirate. Design Bones and skulls have been a sign of death since early Rome. Skulls and long bones have been displayed in catacombs, crypts, and graveyards since the Middle Ages. Bones were used because they lasted long after the rest of the body was gone. Later, carvings of the skull and bones were used to remind people who entered that they would one day die also. The use of plain black flags was more common than flags with the skull and crossbones. When the skull and crossbones was used, they were often modified by the captain. The Welsh privateer Henry Morgan was the first captain who flew the typical skull and crossbones on a red background.Captain Morgan holds the red Jolly Roger. Three and a half decades later, the pirate captain Edward England used the same flag, but with the black background, a design which was later adopted by many other members of the Brethren of the Coast.The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook, p54. The same flag, but with the reversed colours, was used among pirates to signal parlay.The Price of Freedom, Chapter 14: "Hard Bargains" For unknown reasons, many pirates believed that England's design was allegedly the first used and standardized pirate flag. Gallery of notable Jolly Rogers Image:Edward England flag.gif|The flag used by Edward England and Jack Sparrow. Image:Calico Jack flag.png|Hector Barbossa's first flag, previously used by members of the Armada of the Damned, "Calico Jack" Rackham, and another pirate captain. Image:Barbossa second flag.png|Hector Barbossa's second flag. Image:Moodyflag.gif|The flag used by several pirate captains, occasionally attributed to Christopher Moody. Image:Ammand flag.png|Ammand's flag. Image:Bonnet flag.png|Chevalle's flag, occasionally attributed to Stede Bonnet. Image:Sumbhajee flag.png|Sri Sumbhajee's flag. Image:ChingsColors.jpg|Mistress Ching's flag. Image:Bartholomew flag.png|Jocard's flag, previously used by Bartholomew Roberts. Image:Low flag.gif|Sao Feng's flag, previously used by Edward Low Image:Feng Swann flag.png|Sao Feng's flag, based on flag of Thomas Tew. Image:Villanuevaflag.gif|Eduardo Villanueva's flag, previously used by Edward "Blackbeard" Teach and Edward Low. Image:Sparrow flag.png|Jack Sparrow's flag, based on flag of Henry Every. Image:Teague Jolly Roger.png|Edward Teague's flag. Image:Blackbeard flag.jpg|Blackbeard's second flag. Image:Morgan flag.PNG|Henry Morgan's flag. Image:BBfirst flag.PNG|Flag used by Richard Worley, Edward "Blackbeard" Teach, and an unnamed pirate captain. Image:Bonnet Jolly Roger.png|The flag used by the pirate Bonnet. Image:Louis flag.PNG|Left-Foot Louis's flag. Image:Smith flag.PNG|Laura Smith's flag. Image:Rogue Pirates' flag.PNG|Flag of Boris Palachnik, Christophe-Julien de Rapièr, and six other pirate captains. Image:James Sterling flag.PNG|James Sterling's flag. Image:WK flag.png|Flag of an unknown pirate captain, occasionally attributed to Walter Kennedy. Image:EE reverted flag.PNG|The pirate flag of parlay. Image:Flag of Henry Avery.png|A flag occasionally attributed to Henry Avery. Image:Flag of Thomas Tew.png|A flag occasionally attributed to Thomas Tew. Behind the scenes *One of Marc Davis' concept artworks shows Henry Morgan holding the red Jolly Roger with the white skull and crossbones. In real-world history, the Jolly Roger wasn't used by pirates before the end of the 17th century, almost a decade after Morgan's historical death. *Hector Barbossa's flag (the skull with crossed swords) is the best known flag used throughout the Pirates of the Caribbean universe. It was seen in the trailer for Armada of the Damned, and is one of the two pirate flags to appear in more than one POTC film (the other being Jack Sparrow's flag). While appearing in the trailers and featurettes for Dead Man's Chest and On Stranger Tides, the flag never made an appearance in the films themselves, though it can been seen very briefly in a shot of the Black Pearl in a bottle. In Dead Men Tell No Tales Barbossa uses a redesigned flag with the black skull and crossed swords on a crimson red background while the original black flag can be briefly seen during the flashback scene on one of the sinking pirate ships. In the script and Irene Tremble's junior novelization for The Curse of the Black Pearl, the skull on Barbossa's pirate flag was described to be exactly like the skull imprinted on the Aztec gold medallion. *In the Pirates world, Sao Feng had at least two known flags. According to the The Pirates' Guidelines and the Legends of the Brethren Court: Rising in the East, it was the same design used for the historical flag of Edward Low (the red skeleton on a black background). In the official website for At World's End, it was a purple flag with a golden hand holding a sword and Chinese letters on it. It's quite likely that either flag was chosen for different reasons at different times. *When designing the Queen Anne's Revenge, producer Jerry Bruckheimer said that since the most famous pirate flag is the skull and crossbones, skulls and skeletons should be worked into the actual design of the ship. This resulted in production designer John Myhre to recall Kostnice, the famous "Church of Bones" in Kutná Hora, Czech Republic. *In real world history, Blackbeard's flag featured a horned skeleton clutching a goblet in one hand and a spear in the other, as if he's toasting his victims. Since John Myhre had already appropriated the skeleton from Blackbeard's real, historically correct flag for the Queen Anne's Revenge's figurehead, a new design was needed for the pirate's flag in On Stranger Tides. Earlier versions by Miles Teves show experimentation with the basic themes of skeletons, skulls, and flames. One flag was quite similar to Blackbeard's actual standard. The final incarnation, a large skull with flames, was conceived and ultimately contributed by Heather Pollington.The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, pg. 55 According to the On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide, the large skull with flames revealed Blackbeard's passion for dark magic. However, in real world history, Blackbeard never used dark magic. In the film's junior novelization, Blackbeard's flag featured the skeleton of the devil sticking a spear into a blood red heart. *In Dead Men Tell No Tales when Henry Turner looks at the Ruddy Rose with a piece of mirror the pirate flag is flying from the mainmast. A few moments later when Officer Cole looks at the ship with his spyglass the flag is flying from the stern flagstaff. *Jolly Rogers can be seen in several Disney Parks locations, including at the entrance of the Tortuga Tavern restaurant and in the 2012 attraction The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow. Appearances *''Pirates of the Caribbean'' (ride) *''The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure'' *''Jack Sparrow: The Pirate Chase'' *''Jack Sparrow: The Sword of Cortés'' *''Jack Sparrow: Silver'' *''Jack Sparrow: Dance of the Hours'' *''Jack Sparrow: Sins of the Father'' *''The Price of Freedom'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Isles of War'' *''Legends of the Brethren Court: The Caribbean'' *''Legends of the Brethren Court: Rising in the East'' *''Legends of the Brethren Court: Wild Waters'' *''Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: The Missing Pirate'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'' **''Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'' (video game) *''Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow'' *''The Accidental Pirate!'' *''Open Sesame!'' *''The Buccaneer's Heart!'' *''Going Overboard!'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' (video game) *''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales'' **''Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: Movie Graphic Novel'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Master of the Seas'' *''Fantasmic!'' *''LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game'' Sources *''Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow'' *''The Price of Freedom'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide'' *''The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'' *''The Pirates' Guidelines'' *''The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook'' External links * Notes and references de:Jolly Roger (Flagge) it:Jolly Roger (bandiera) ru:Весёлый Роджер (флаг) Category:Flags Category:Piracy